A small paper kite caught on a twig with a spool of thread on the ground.

Original artwork, not a still

Lily Tomlin

Don’t be afraid of missing opportunities. Behind every failure is an opportunity somebody wishes they had missed.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker says not to fear missing opportunities, then adds a wry twist: behind each failure lies an opportunity that somebody wishes they had missed. Failure is recast as a chance taken and regretted, so passing one up starts to look less like loss.

Context reviewed

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